In wicca (witchcraft) it is used to help create a deep, undisturbed sleep by slipping dried leaves inside the sleeper's pillow.

Agrimonia was first described in writing by the Greeks who used it to treat conjunctivitus, other eye ailments, wounds (especially on the battle field), and liver ailments. Agrimonia is Latin, a variant of argemonia, and comes from the Greek word agermone which translates to, "speck in the eye." Eupatoria, as in agrimonia eupatoria, is derived from the name of King Mithridates IV Eupator (132 BC-63BC), ruler of Pontus in northern Turkey. He is well known in history for his knowledge of plant lore as well as the Mithridates Wars which he lead against the Romans. Agrimonia has been used since ancient times in Egypt to treat the digestive system and in Eastern Asia it is still used to treat heavy bleeding, coughs and flu.

The Anglo Saxons knew agrimonia as "garclive," and used it for wounds, warts, snake bites and, as did the Romans, eye ailments and liver disease. English poet Michael Drayton (1563-1631) declared agrimony to be an, "all heal" herb. In France and later throughout Europe it was an active ingredient in arquebusade water, which was used to treat wounds inflicted by an arquebus, a small gun operated by a matchlock mechanism dating to the 15th century.

Recent studies published by The U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) [1] and other scientific institutions suggest that chemicals in the plant may stimulate Cytokines which are proteins that stimulate the immune system.